EDMONTON, AB – Last Tuesday, April 12th, saw the release of Single Star Stout, the latest limited edition house beer from Sherbrooke Liquor Store in Edmonton.

Brewed for them by Alley Kat Brewery, the beer has an interesting story behind it, as told in the following excerpt from the press release:

On the 12th of April, 1861, Confederate guns opened fire on Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina. This was the beginning of the American Civil War, which would last until 1865, and see nearly a quarter of a million servicemen killed.

In a totally unrelated set of circumstances, 150 years to the day, Sherbrooke Liquor Store is stunned to realize that their latest beer is effectively commemorating that event.

Late in 2010, Sherbrooke Liquor Store participated in the Jack Daniels Single Barrel Program. Under this program, a specially selected barrel of Jack Daniels is privately bottled for a single purchaser, and afterwards, the barrel is varnished and sent along as a display piece.

When selecting the barrel, we asked Master Distiller Jeff Arnett if it would be possible to have the barrel sent to us ‘wet’ instead. He graciously agreed, and the barrel was sent to Alley Kat, where it sat awaiting a worthy beer.

That beer was Three Bears Oatmeal Stout. The first in the Limited Edition “Big Bottle” Series from Alley Kat, an even more Limited Edition was produced when a small quantity of the finished product was transferred to the barrel, where it aged a further 60 days.

While this transpired, the search for reference material to give to John Keane (the regular artist for almost all of the Sherbrooke beers) led to discovering the art of Don Troiani. With all due respect to John, it was immediately obvious to us that we had found the proper artist for this beer, and we immediately licensed the use of an image from his collection. The print is entitled “14th Mississippi, 1862” and depicts a soldier of that regiment sitting in Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

In searching for inspiration to come up with a name for the beer, it was discovered that, in addition to “Dixie” there was another song at the time that was also an anthem to the Confederacy. This was “The Bonnie Blue Flag“. A line from the song, referred to the “Single Star” (which you will also note graces the cap of the soldier) and we immediately realized we had found the name.

We hope you enjoy this beer, and give thought to the men who gave their lives, not just in this conflict but in those of the following century. Conflicts that shaped their nation and ours, allowing us to live the lives we lead today in peace. A peace that is not shared worldwide.